A fellow my husband works with called me to ask me if I'd ever heard of a 2 year old child being diagnosed by a neurologist as bi-polar and having Risperdal prescribed.
I was floored but kept my cool letting him know that technology advances every day and this may be new knowledge and treatment... I also encouraged him to speak again with the mother of his grandchild to clarify the information, how the diagnosis was made, etc. This is one of those situations where the mother didn't marry the father and the grandparents are stuck in the middle. He is certain the baby has been prescribed the medication because he was reading the medication bottle to me over the phone and said the baby had been given his first dose that day by his Mom... the Mom brought the baby to the grandparents to babysit. He also said the baby has an appointment next month with a behaviorist at the local childrens hospital. Sounds like a real mess to me, and that I'm not getting the full story. By the way, the grandfather says the boy acts like a normal 2 year old boy to him; the mother specifically said "bi-polar" and not ADHD or anything else, and "neurologist" not psychiatrist... The mother is very young and made it through the 10th grade and the grandparents both finished high school but have no medical training... just lots of common sense and life experience and are looking for answers as to why this baby has been put on an antipsychotic drug.
When I looked up the medication in my book I find it's an antipsychotic most often prescribed for schizophrenia. I must admit I'm totally confused on this one!!
Any wonderful psych nurses out there who have any light to shed on this? I'd be ever so grateful to you!!! It's a real mystery to me right now.
Yes, it is scary that 2 y.o. are being prescribed risperdal. My daughter informed of a woman that received a prescription for her 2 y.o. daughter . She was given a diagnosis of "pediatric bi-polar". I was shocked that a child so small would get that diagnosis. Fortunately, the mother refuses to medicate her child.
Later, that day, there was a show on discovery where a 2 y.o was taking 6 pills a day. Risperdal was one of them. The parents were adoptive and just accepted that the bio parents were bi-polar, so this was the fate of their little one.
The latest diagnosis for pediatric is temper dysregulation disorder. Sounds like BPD for adults. And, I am of the belief that medication should be the last resort. It is quite scary when they are medicating little one's.
This whole story about this child breaks my heart. There is no way possible that a child can be diagnosed with bipolar at 2 years old.I am not a psych nurse but this topic really upset me, so I had to get on my soap box.
As a mother of five and someone who suffers from ADHD, medications should be the last resort. I didn't medicate myself until I was an adult. I do however have several children that are showing signs of ADHD, but since it's not affecting school work, I have decided to wait until they are old enough to decide if they want to take meds are not.
There are so many other theraputic methods to treat children. Diet, routine, sleeping habits,homeschooling, etc that can help these kids.
I would take this child for a second maybe even a third opinion. Then I would research other ways to help this family cope with the situation.
With my kids, when all else fails, I pray, and pray hard. Sometimes our environment affects our outcome. As a parent, if we see our children struggle we need to step back and look at their environment. Is it healthy or dangerous? I promise you if you went to a psych ward and asked the patients questions about their childhood, 99% of them had a disturbing event or events that made them the way they are. If this is the situation now, I would hate to see this child in 10-20 years.
iwanna
470 Posts
Yes, it is scary that 2 y.o. are being prescribed risperdal. My daughter informed of a woman that received a prescription for her 2 y.o. daughter . She was given a diagnosis of "pediatric bi-polar". I was shocked that a child so small would get that diagnosis. Fortunately, the mother refuses to medicate her child.
Later, that day, there was a show on discovery where a 2 y.o was taking 6 pills a day. Risperdal was one of them. The parents were adoptive and just accepted that the bio parents were bi-polar, so this was the fate of their little one.
The latest diagnosis for pediatric is temper dysregulation disorder. Sounds like BPD for adults. And, I am of the belief that medication should be the last resort. It is quite scary when they are medicating little one's.